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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22626460">There’s no i in team</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lahey14/pseuds/Lahey14'>Lahey14</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Corporal Punishment, Spanking, Team Bonding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:08:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,197</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22626460</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lahey14/pseuds/Lahey14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Neji, Tenten, and Lee have been assigned to team Guy, but their team work is still not good enough to call a team. Guy realizes as their teacher he needs to step up and teach them how to be a team.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I don’t own Naruto or any of the characters.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Tenten and Lee sat in the middle of the training field waiting for their sensei to show up. She looked over at Neji, who was leaning up against a tree across the field as far as he could get from his teammates. It has been a month since they have been assigned as a team, and Neji was still very distant. Neji and Lee don’t get along very well, but Neji seems to tolerate Tenten. Tenten, for the most part, likes both her teammates. They both have their defects, but they also have their great qualities. Tenten just wished that Lee would be less energetic and Neji would be more open.<br/>
“Hey Neji! Come sit by us.” Called Tenten, she’s been trying very hard to make her prodigy of a teammate more social.<br/>
“I’d rather die.” But sadly she was failing.<br/>
“Neji that is not very good sportsmanship, we are a team! We must act like one!”<br/>
Neji sent a death glared at Lee.<br/>
“Lee, just drop it. It’s not a big deal.” Tenten tried to defuse the situation before it escalated.<br/>
“No, I will not! Neji thinks he’s better than us, but he’s not!”<br/>
“I know for a fact I’m better than you, you can’t even use ninjutsu.”<br/>
“Shut your mouth! I don’t need ninjutsu to beat you!”<br/>
“Well in that case, why haven’t you beat me yet? I’m clearly stronger and that will never change!”<br/>
Lee marched over to Neji and shoved his finger at his chest, “You know what!?”<br/>
Neji aggressively shoved Lees hand away, “What!?”<br/>
Tenten quickly stood between her teammates, “come on guys, let’s just take a few calming breaths.”<br/>
“No, someone needs to put Neji in his place!”<br/>
“And you think that someone is you?” Neji laughed mockingly.<br/>
“I will try!”<br/>
Neji and Lee edges closer to each other but Tenten lifted her arms up and pushed the boys back.<br/>
Before anyone could say or do anything else Guy sensei appeared out of thin air.<br/>
“Good morning my beautiful pupils!” Guy looked at his students and mistook their closeness as friendliness. “I see you guys are getting along this morning.”<br/>
Neji rolled his eyes at Guy’s statement.<br/>
“It’s quite the opposite, Guy sensei!” Announced Lee. Tenten tried to shush Lee, but it was too late. Their sensei already heard.<br/>
“And why’s that, Lee?”<br/>
“Neji is being a jerk!”<br/>
Neji scoffed and glared at Lee. Guy shifted his attention to Neji.<br/>
“Is this true, Neji?”<br/>
“Believe what you want.”<br/>
“I would like to hear your side of the story.” Guy continued to smile warmly, his Hyuga was very stubborn which made it hard to talk to him sometimes. But Guy was a patient man and he wanted all his students to feel safe enough to communicate with him.<br/>
Neji stayed quiet, refusing to talk. After five minutes of silence Guy decided it was better not to push the kid.<br/>
“Okay then. Let’s start training.”<br/>
“Great idea sensei!”<br/>
“Thank you, Lee.” Guy gave his student a thumbs up, “let’s start with a quick warm up, 100 push ups, 100 sit ups and 100 pull ups.”<br/>
“Yes Guy sensei!” Lee immediately jumped to the ground and started his push ups.<br/>
“That’s the spirit Lee!” Guy quickly followed, Tenten and Neji reluctantly bend down and began their own push ups.<br/>
After the push ups, sit ups, and pull ups; Guy sensei had  his students stand in front of a wooden post to work on their punches and kicks. After three hours of hard and vigorous training Guy ordered his students to sit in a circle to rest.<br/>
“Are we dismissed yet?” Curtly asked Neji.<br/>
“No, my young prodigy. We are going to do team bonding.”<br/>
“This is ridiculous.” Guy ignored his students comment.<br/>
“I want everyone to go around the circle and say one complement about each of us. Tenten you first.”<br/>
“Uhm, okay. Neji, I like that you’re very confident in your talents. Lee, I admire your hard work and determination.”<br/>
“Thank you, Tenten.” Tenten smiles at Lee and continued.<br/>
“And sensei, I enjoy your energy. Sometimes.”<br/>
“Thank you Tenten. That was perfect. Neji you’re next.”<br/>
“...” Neji stared pass his teammates and showed no sign that he heard his sensei.<br/>
“Neji, it’s your turn.” Guy repeated. Neji directed his gaze towards sensei, showing him that he heard but refused to participate.<br/>
“That’s fine, you must need more time to think of something. We’ll come back to you. I’ll go now. Tenten, I love your sweet and caring personality. Neji, I praise your strong-willed personality and how independent you are. And Lee, I respect your youthful energy and how you always push forward.”<br/>
“I appreciate your kind words sensei.” Tears of happiness poured out of Lee’s eyes, Guy leaned over and hugged him.<br/>
“It’s your turn now, Lee”<br/>
“Alright, Guy sensei! You are the best sensei ever, I hope to be just like you one day. Tenten, you are so kind hearted. And Neji...” Lee made a distasteful face,” you are very skillful.”<br/>
“Great job, Lee. Now Neji, it’s your turn.”<br/>
Neji continued to sit in silence.<br/>
“We can stay here all day, I don’t mind. But we’re not going anywhere until you take your turn.”<br/>
Neji remain silent.<br/>
“Ugh,” Tenten groaned. They were going to be here all day.<br/>
“Neji, please just share so we can get this over with.” She was hoping Neji would have mercy on them and listen to her. <br/>
But Neji showed no sign of giving in. </p><p>*45 minutes later*</p><p>Lee and Tenten laid out across the grass watching the clouds pass by, both of them gave up hope of being dismissed any time soon.<br/>
Guy quietly sighed, he was still trying to figure Neji out. Neji was different from his other two students, threats didn’t scare him and  he isn’t easily intimidated. Guy didn’t know what his next step should be. He knew that Neji had the determination to sit here all day and all night. He needed a way  to make Neji give in.<br/>
“Neji, I’ve been trying to be patient, but you’re making it really difficult.” Guy pinched the bridge of his nose. “You have one minute to take your turn...”<br/>
“Or what?” Neji’s spit out, his voice was filled with venom. Guy didn’t expect Neji to answer in such a manner. Guy was used to Neji talking back, but this was different. Neji wasn’t just talking back, he was challenging Guy’s authority. Guy could not allow this to slide, he had to create boundaries. His mind was racing a mile a minute, he had no clue what to do now. Guy started thinking about what his father would do in this situation. Guy took a deep breath in and let it out, before beginning to count.<br/>
“5” Neji looked at him curiously, he was confused. What was Guy up too?<br/>
“4”<br/>
“3” Lee and Tenten sat up, they also watched Guy questionably.<br/>
“2” Guy got in to a kneeling position,<br/>
“1” without hesitation, Guy reached across the circle and grabbed Neji’s arm pulling him over and across his knee. Neji had no time to react, mostly because he was still confused as to what was happening. And for a moment Guy though this was a bad idea and he should just let Neji go, but if he did that Neji would never learn to take him seriously.<br/>
Guy lifted his hand in the air and brought it down hard on Neji’s back side.<br/>
All three genin gasped in shock. None of them had expected Guy to react this way, especially Neji who was on the receiving end.<br/>
Guy lifted his hand again and landed five fast and hard smacks, causing Neji to wince in pain.<br/>
Without waiting, Guy landed five more smacks right on his sitting spot, making Neji tense his whole body and closing his hands into a tight fist.<br/>
Guy continued landing smacks on Neji’s backside. He was sure to move fast, which made it difficult for Neji to catch his breath.<br/>
Tears started falling from Neji’s eyes involuntarily, so Neji squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to stop the flow. He would not be able to live with himself if he cried in front of everyone.<br/>
Guy landed ten more smacks on the area where the curve of Neji’s legs met his lower backside. By the time Guy stop, Neji was hyperventilating, from all the strength that it took him to hold back his tears. Guy began rubbing circles on Neji’s back trying to calm him.<br/>
But the second Neji realized Guy wasn’t hitting him anymore, he shoved himself off of Guys leg and backed away. Neji glared daggers at Guy, but his eyes were filled with unshed tears making his glare less intimidating. Neji could feel his teammates eyes piercing through his back, there was no way he would ever be able to look at them in the eyes again.<br/>
Guy put his hand on Neji’s shoulder, in an attempt to comfort Neji, but Neji roughly shrugged his hand off and backed further away.<br/>
Guy felt a tinge of pain in his heart after his comfort was rejected. But, he felt a stronger pain when he looked at his student who was hurting. He was filled with guilt at the though of being the one who caused it. Guy cleared his throat and pushed the thought away.<br/>
“Could you please take your turn now, Neji?”<br/>
Panic filled Neji when he realized he was going to have to face his teammates and his unshed tears began to fall.<br/>
Guy was immediately filled with concern, his stubborn Hyuga usually didn’t show any emotions other than anger or detested.<br/>
“Lee, Tenten, you two are dismissed.” Both of them looked at Guy in confusion.<br/>
“But...”<br/>
“No, buts!” Guy gave them a serious look, that said don’t argue with me. They slowly and unwilling got up and walked out of the training grounds.<br/>
Once Lee and Tenten were gone, Guy reached for Neji again and pulled him into a hug. Neji stiffen but didn’t pull away, so Guy took that as a win.<br/>
“It’s okay Neji.” Guy rubbed circles on his back again “you’re okay.”<br/>
Neji stared blankly ahead, not acknowledging Guy. Tears were no longer falling from his eyes.<br/>
Guy slowly pulled away and tried to read Neji’s expression, but he couldn’t.<br/>
“Do you understand why you received this spanking?”<br/>
Neji cringed at the word.<br/>
“Punishment,” Guy quickly corrected when he realized how uncomfortable the word made Neji.<br/>
Neji still gave no answer.<br/>
“This is exactly why Neji. You are being defiant, and I will not tolerate any defiance.” Guy was sure to talk calmly. He didn’t want to sound mad because he didn’t want Neji to get scare. “Am I clear?”<br/>
Neji didn’t respond and instead looked down at the ground. Guy’s patients wore thin and he raised his voice.<br/>
“Am I clear, Neji!”<br/>
Neji flinched but nodded his head. Guy now understood that he needed to be firmer with Neji than his other students.<br/>
“Good. Do you have anything else to say?”<br/>
Neji just shrugged, he didn’t know what else to say.<br/>
“Maybe an apology.”<br/>
Neji sighed annoyingly to himself, why did Guy like to torture him.<br/>
“I’m sorry.” He spat out through clenched teeth.<br/>
“You’re forgiven.”<br/>
Guy squeezed Neji’s shoulder and smiled, “and I expect you to apologize to your teammates as well.”<br/>
Neji rolled his eyes, “Am I dismissed?”<br/>
Guy sighed defeatedly, “yes.”<br/>
And with that, Neji turned and walked out of the training field.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don’t know Naruto or any of its characters.</p><p>Things to keep in mind: Tenten, already knows about Neji’s curse mark and the Hyuga Branches. This is why she’s always being protective of him.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neji slowly walked back to the Hyuga Compound, he wasn’t in a rush to get there. As he approached the Hyuga gates he saw Tenten leaning up against the entrance. Neji groan but continued to walk up, maybe she wouldn’t notice him. But, she did and once  Tenten noticed him, she pushed herself off the gate and walked up to Neji. <br/>“Hey, Neji.” Tenten smiles warmly at him. <br/>“What do you want!” <br/>“I just wanted to see if you were okay.”<br/>“Why do you care.” <br/>“Because Neji! I care about your well being.” <br/>“Why?!” <br/>“Because we are a team, when are you going to get that through your thick skull. If something is wrong with you, it affects all of us.”<br/>Neji rolled his eyes, “I’m fine.” <br/>“That’s good.” <br/>“Can you leave now?”<br/>“No, I want to make sure you’re okay.”<br/>“I already told you, I’m fine.”<br/>“But I don’t believe you.” <br/>“Well, that’s the truth.” <br/>“Then why won’t you look at me.” <br/>Neji took a deep breath and shifted his gaze towards Tenten. He felt sick to his stomach looking at her. She was probably here to make fun of him. <br/>“I understand you might feel a little embarrassed, but I’m here to tell you it’s okay. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed.”<br/>Neji’s gaze turned into a glare, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Responded Neji in a low and threatening tone. But Tenten continued unfazed. <br/>“I think you handled the situation very well. If it was me, I would have bawled my eyes out.” Tenten snickered a little, Neji just stared at her. Tenten took a deep breath and became serious. <br/>She put her hand on Neji’s shoulder, “You can talk to me, okay.” <br/>There was a 30 second moment of silence. <br/>“I’m sorry.” <br/>Tenten was taken aback, she had expected Neji to remain stubbornly silent. She was definitely not expecting those words to leave her teammates mouth. <br/>“What?” <br/>“I’m sorry.”<br/>“For what?”<br/>“I don’t know, Guy sensei said I had to apologize to you guys. So just tell him I did.” <br/>“Yeah, okay.” Tenten was still confused. <br/>Neji pushed pass her and made his way into the compound, but Tenten wasn’t done with her teammate yet. She quickly followed him. <br/>Neji did his best to ignore her and continued walking over to his home. <br/>It took about 10 minutes to get to Neji’s house. Once he got there he unlocked the door, but before he could enter Tenten pushed through him and entered first. Neji threw his arms up in exaggeration.<br/>“This is a nice place you got here.” Tenten smiled. <br/>“Can you leave me alone?!” <br/>“No.”<br/>“What do you want from me?!”<br/>Tenten looked around the room with her hand on her chin. <br/>“Where do you keep your kettle? I’m going to make us some tea?” <br/>“Will you leave my house?!”<br/>“Not until I’ve had a cup of tea.” <br/>Neji rudely shoved Tenten out of his way and went into his kitchen. He open the middle cabinet on the right, pulled out his kettled, then slammed the cabinet door shut. He filled the kettle with water and put it on his stove. <br/>Tenten happily made her way to the table in the middle of the kitchen and watched Neji. <br/>“Lovely weather we’re having, right?” <br/>Neji scowled at Tenten, she could be just as annoying as Lee when she wanted to. <br/>“The sun is shinning very bright.” <br/>“Yeah, the perfect day to get my ass beat.” Sarcastically snapped Neji.<br/>Tenten tilted her head at him. <br/>“I thought you didn’t want to talk about it?” <br/>“I don’t, but clearly you won’t leave me alone until I do!” <br/>“I said I would leave after I had my tea.” Tenten tried to look as innocent as she could. <br/>They sat in silence for a few seconds.<br/>“But, since you brought it up.” <br/>“Please kill me,” Neji said, mostly to himself. <br/>“You can’t act like you didn’t deserve it.” <br/>He stared at her dumbfounded.<br/>“I mean you were the one who said and I quote, or what. So, you kind of asked for it.” <br/>“Whatever!” <br/>Tenten could see the anger in his eyes. <br/>“I’m just telling you the truth, as your teammate it is my responsibility to hold you accountable for your actions.” <br/>“Not for long!”<br/>“What do you mean?”<br/>“You won’t be my teammate anymore. Tomorrow I’m going to the Hokage’s office and getting transferred to a new team.” <br/>Tenten slammed her hand on the table annoyingly. <br/>“See, this is your problem.”<br/>“What is?”<br/>“You always let your emotions dictate your decisions. Instead of think rationally, you always react impulsively depending on the emotions you’re feeling.” <br/>“What do you mean, I don’t do that?!”<br/>“Yeah you do, like now. The only reason you want to quit this team is because you’re angry. You’re allowing your anger to make your decisions.”<br/>“No I’m not! I have a good reason for transferring.”<br/>“What is it then?”<br/>“I don’t like Guy.” <br/>“Sensei!” Tenten quickly added. She knew Neji wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, he was just angry. <br/>“You don’t like Guy sensei.” She corrected, Neji just rolled his eyes.<br/>“And I don’t like Lee.” <br/>“Those don’t sound like good reasons to me.” <br/>“Well, they’re good enough for me.”<br/>“So you’re a quitter now. The big bad Hyuga, who’s stronger than everyone in the world, can’t handle a little punishment so now he’s quitting. Wow, poor you” Tenten’s sarcasm was almost as good as Neji’s. <br/>“I’m not quitting!”<br/>“It sounds like it to me. Something didn’t go your way, so now you’re throwing a fit. If you don’t like being punished like a child then don’t act like one.”<br/>The kettle began to whistle, distracting both of the genin. Neji turned the stove off and added the green tea into the water. He got a cup from another cabinet and pour some tea into it. He shoved it towards Tenten. <br/>“Drink your tea, then go.” <br/>“You know what it is?” Tenten looked up at Neji, who was leaning up against his counters. <br/>“You’re not used to being punished. None of us our. It’s been a while since any of us had any real adult supervision. You’ve always been on your own, taking care of yourself. Now this random person shows up and tries to tell you what to do, you don’t like it. I understand, it’s  hard.”<br/>Neji, again, glared at Tenten. But his glare wasn’t harsh. <br/>“It’s not a bad thing. Getting punished, I mean. It just means he cares.” <br/>“Explain.” Neji looked at Tenten with annoyed interest. <br/>“Because, if Guy didn’t care about you he wouldn’t have wasted his time punishing you. It takes a lot less effort to just ignore your bratty attitude, then to try and fix it.” <br/>“Or he was just getting revenge on me, because I keep hurting his precious Lee.” <br/>“If that was true, he would have gone to the Hokage’s office long time ago and got you transferred himself. He clearly wants you on the team.” <br/>Neji, walked over and sat across from Tenten. <br/>“You can’t prove that.” <br/>“Yeah, I can.” <br/>“How?”<br/>“When I was little and I lived at the orphanage, everyone looked at me like a burden. Nothing more than a waste of space. You know the feel? Your family, the main branch, they look at you like that too, right?”<br/>Neji stared at Tenten for a few seconds, then nodded his head. <br/>“When Guy sensei looks at us, it’s different. He looks happy to have us. If Guy sensei really didn’t want you, he would look at you with those same eyes that everyone else looks at us with. Has Guy ever looked at you like that, like you were a burden?”<br/>Neji shook his head. <br/>“See, he does want you.” <br/>That still didn’t prove anything, thought Neji to himself.<br/>“But I don’t know why, you’re really annoying.” Tenten smirked up at him. <br/>“Have you finished your tea?” Neji said with no aggression in his voice. <br/>“I will finish my tea, only if you promise to stay on this team.”<br/>Neji thought it over for a moment. <br/>“Fine.” <br/>“So you’re not going to ask the Hokage to transfer you?”<br/>“No, I won’t.”<br/>“You promise.”<br/>“Yeah.”<br/>“Good,” Tenten lifted her cup and chugged that whole thing. <br/>“I’ll see you tomorrow morning for team training. 7:00 sharp.” Tenten got up gave Neji a quick hug and skipped out the door before Neji he could react. <br/>Neji hated to admit it, but talking to Tenten did make him feel better.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don’t own Naruto or any of its characters. <br/>I had writers block, so this chapter is kind of rough.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next day when Tenten arrived to the training field, Lee was already there, doing push ups. <br/>“Hey Lee!” Tenten walked up to him.<br/>“Hey, Tenten!” Lee popped up and saluted Tenten. <br/>Tenten looked around the training field, “where’s Neji?” <br/>Lee looked around too, “I don’t know. He’s not here yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t show up because of yesterday.” Lee snickered, Tenten gave him a warning look.<br/>“Listen Lee, please don’t bring that up when Neji gets here.”<br/>“That is if he comes.”<br/>“He will come, he promised.” <br/>And right on queue, Neji walked in to the training field. Tenten shot Lee one more warning look before running up to Neji. Lee put his hands up defensively. <br/>“Neji! Hi! Come join, us!”<br/>Tenten didn’t let him answer, instead she dragged him over to where her and Lee were standing. <br/>“Hi, Neji.” Said Lee with much less enthusiasm than Tenten. <br/>Neji just stared at his teammates, he really didn’t want to be there but he made a promise to Tenten. He knew if he broke his promise he would never hear the end of it. <br/>“How’d you sleep last night? Probably on your stomach right?” Lee smirked at Neji, Tenten quickly elbowed him in his ribs.<br/>“Ow!”<br/>Neji gave him a death glare. <br/>“What? Im just making friendly conversation.” Lee had a smug smile on his face. He found it entertaining to see his cocky teammate be timid for once. <br/>“Shut up..”<br/>“Or what?” Mocked Lee. <br/>Neji went quiet and his face began to heat up. <br/>“Lee, you need to stop.” Whispered Tenten. Lee wasn’t trying to be mean on purpose, he was just trying to tease Neji a little. <br/>“Lee, I told you not to say anything.” Tenten said under her breath.<br/>“I didn’t say anything,” Defended Lee.<br/>Neji looked down at the ground.<br/>“Stop whispering about me like I’m not here!” <br/>“We’re not whispering about you,” giggled Tenten nervously. <br/>“Say whatever you want about me, I don’t care!” <br/>However, Tenten could see right through his tough guy act, he actually did care. <br/>“Okay, you know what? We should do some warm ups, let’s stretch!” Tenten decided it was better to change the subject. <br/>“I have a better idea. I challenge you Neji! Figh me.”<br/>Neji gave Lee a annoyed look. <br/>“I’d rather jump off a cliff!”<br/>“Such tough words from someone who can’t even sit,” laughed Lee. <br/>Tenten held her breath and snuck a glimpse of Neji. <br/>“Lee!” She yelled.<br/>“What? He said he didn’t care if we said something.” <br/>“I don't have time for this! I’m leaving.”<br/>“Neji, no! Wait!” Tenten stretches out her hand and grabbed Neji by his arm, but Neji easily pulled his arm free. <br/>But, as Neji turned and took one step forward he ran into something hard. This caused him to lose his balance, fortunately the object he bumped into was Guy sensei. Guy reached out and caught Neji, then wrapped his arm around his shoulder. <br/>“What’s going on here?” Guy didn’t have his usual perky smile, instead he gave his genin a stern look.<br/>All three genin stared at their sensei in shock, when did he get there?<br/>“Nothing, Guy sensei. We were just about to do some stretches,” answered Tenten. <br/>“Then, where are you going, Neji?” <br/>The three genin just stared at each other.<br/>“Are you guys giving Neji a hard time?” <br/>“No, of course not,” uttered Tenten. <br/>“Don’t lie to me,” warned Guy. <br/>“I wasn’t, I promise,” Tenten was telling the truth when she said she wasn’t, but she couldn’t say the same about Lee. <br/>“What about you, Lee?”<br/>“No sir,” said Lee shakily. <br/>“Neji, are they giving you a hard time?” Guy turned to face Neji. <br/>Neji could snitch on Lee and get his revenge, but in order to do that he would have to admit that he was bothered by Lee’s comments and Neji didn’t want Lee to know that they actually upset him. <br/>“No,” mumbled Neji. <br/>“Well, I happen to have heard you, Lee, making fun of Neji when I arrived today. Would you like to explain yourself?” <br/>“What? No sensei, I would never make fun of Neji.”<br/>“So you did not make a comment about Neji not being able to sit?” <br/>“I mean, I did. But it was innocent. Just a little friendly teasing.” <br/>“I didn’t find it so innocent.”<br/>“I’m sorry sensei, really.”<br/>“If there is one thing that I will not tolerate on my team, it is bullying of any kind about ones punishment. Once someone is punished it is forgiven and forgotten, therefore, it shall not be mentioned again unless the one who received the punishment chooses to talk about it through his or her own free will. None of you are to make fun of, tease, or joke about each other’s punishments. Is that understood?” Guy looked pointedly at all his students. <br/>“Yes sir!” They all said in unison. <br/>“Good!” <br/>Guy reached out for Lee and then in one swift movement he bent down to one knee, pulling Lee down with him and over his raised knee. <br/>“This type of behavior will never go unpunished.” And with that Guy brought his hand down hard on Lee’s backside causing him to cry out in pain. Lee was definitely more vocal than Neji, after only five hard smacks he was already a sobbing mess over Guy’s lap. <br/>Smack smack smack <br/>“Owwww!” Groaned Lee. <br/>Smack smack smack <br/>“I’m s-s-sorry!”<br/>Smack smack smack<br/>“Argh!”<br/>Smack smack smack <br/>A smile formed at the corner of Neji’s lips, but he quickly hid it with a frown. He was happy that Lee was finally getting what he deserved but he was also scared of showing any expression that indicated this, because he didn’t want to take another trip over his sensei’s knee. <br/>Smack smack smack <br/>“Ah!” <br/>Smack smack smack <br/>“We’re done Lee,” informed Guy as he rubbed circles on Lee’s back. Lee pushed himself up and looked at his sensei as tears rapidly fell from his eyes.<br/>Guy pulled Lee in for a hug, Lee happily accepted and hugged back. This seemed to have made Lee cry harder as he buried his face into Guy’s shoulder. Guy continued to comfort Lee until he stopped crying.<br/>Finally, Lee pulled away from Guy and wiped his face while Guy stood back up.  <br/>“Lee, you need to apologize to Neji now.” <br/>Lee slowly turned to Neji and looked down at his feet. <br/>“I’m sorry Neji.” <br/>“For what?” Pushed Guy. <br/>“For teasing you about being punished.” <br/>“Neji?” Guy turned to Neji. <br/>Neji stared at Guy, “what?”<br/>“Do you forgive Lee?”<br/>Neji was about to make a smart comment but then decided it was better for his rear’s safety if he didn’t.  <br/>“Do I have to forgive him?” Groaned Neji. <br/>“I guess you don’t have to, but only if you truly haven’t forgiven him yet. But you will have to forgive him eventually.”<br/>Neji rolled his eyes, but then he reluctantly shifted his gaze from Guy to Lee, “ I guess, I...” Neji inhaled deeply, “forgive you.”<br/>“Yes, this is the spirit of YOUTH!” Guy reach out and pulled both Lee and Neji into a hug. Tears of happiness fell from Guy’s eyes. <br/>Tenten awkwardly watched from where she was standing, she didn’t know what she should do. <br/>Without warning Guy reached for her and pulled her into the hug too. <br/>“You kids fill me up with so much pride!” <br/>After what felt like an eternity, Guy finally let go of his students.<br/>“Okay my precious pupils, let’s start our training! Sit ups, ready go!”<br/>The three genin looked at each other questionably before Neji and Tenten got down into a sit up position. Lee was hesitant to join but he slowly bent down to the ground, wincing in pain when he sat down. Neji sniggered at him, which caused Guy to shoot Neji a serious look, but Neji swiftly hid his face with his hair. When Guy turned back around Tenten smacked Neji’s arm.<br/>“Ow!” <br/>Guy turned again and examined his students suspiciously, Tenten and Neji tried to look as natural as possible. After Guy turned back around again, Tenten leaned closer into Neji’s side.<br/>“You didn’t like it when Lee was laughing at you, so don’t laugh at him.” She whispered.<br/>“Okay, I’m sorry.” Neji rubbed his arm, “you need to cut your nails. I think you cut me.” <br/>Tenten took Neji’s arm, inspected it, and then smacked it again.<br/>“You’re fine, stop being a baby.” <br/>                               - 5 hours later-<br/>“Alright Kids, that’s enough training for today. I have to go meet with Lord Hokage  now. But I’ll cook us some dinner tonight, okay?” <br/>“Yes Guy sensei!”<br/>“Okay.”<br/>“Whatever.” <br/>With that Guy flashed a smile and thumbs up before disappearing in a puff of smoke. <br/>The three 12 year olds sat in the middle of the clearing resting. <br/>Lee and Neji stared at each other challengingly.<br/>“So? What should we do now?” Tenten asked as she waved her hand between the two boys’ faces. <br/>“I’m going home.”  Neji stood up but Tenten latched herself to his right foot.<br/>“No you’re not, we have to do team bonding!”<br/>“Tenten! Let go of my leg!”<br/>“No! Lee help me!”<br/>Lee did as Tenten said and grabbed his other leg, weighing Neji down. <br/>“Let go of me!”<br/>“No!” Yelled both Lee and Tenten. <br/>Neji walked slowly, dragging his teammates along. <br/>“This is ridiculous!”<br/>“Just say you’ll hang out with us and we’ll let go!”<br/>Neji groaned, why did he have to get stuck with this team. <br/>“FINE!” <br/>Lee and Tenten both let go and stood up.<br/>“Yay!” <br/>“What now?!” Neji glared at his teammates. There was a moment of silence before Lee broke it. <br/>“I really am sorry, Neji. I didn’t mean to tease you. I really did think that it was just a funny punishment, I didn’t realized that it hurt so much. It was insensitive of me to not take your feelings into consideration.”<br/>“It doesn’t matter. You’ve been punished, so we’re even now.”<br/>“I have a new respect for you, I cannot believe you went through that and remained so calm through the whole thing. You didn’t even shed a single tear. That’s true strength!” <br/>“That’s not necessarily true.”<br/>“What do you mean?” Asked Lee and Tenten at the same time.<br/>“Well, when Guy sensei dismissed you guys, I might have cried a little. Just a little!” <br/>There was something about watching Lee get spanked that made him feel more comfortable with his teammates, like he could trust them. If worst comes to worst and they did make fun of him, all he had to do was, tell Guy sensei and they would pay the price. <br/>“That’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with crying. It just means you’re human. I think only an emotionless psychopath would not cry after experiencing a punishment like that.”<br/>Neji laughed, Lee did have a point. <br/>Tenten smiled a big and bright smile, this was the first time she has ever seen them getting along, it made her so proud. <br/>They were finally becoming a proper team.</p>
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